The Louisiana Division's collection includes thousands of volumes devoted to genealogical research, all of which are cataloged in NOPL’s automated catalog. The catalog can be accessed at neworleanspubliclibrary.org. Although the collection includes many standard works that are available elsewhere, the Louisiana Division has acquired quite a few histories of particular families and several multi-volume sets that have been unavailable for many years. A few of the more important books and series in the collection are described below.

What started out as a study of the demographics of 17th- and 18th-century Quebec evolved into this encyclopedic series which reconstructs over one and a half million inhabitants of Quebec from 1621-1765 using church records such as baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and funerals, as well as censuses and other documents to fill in the gaps in the ecclesiastical records. GenR (Can) 929.3714 R425

Colored Civic League of New Orleans. Colored New Orleans: High Points of Negro Endeavor. The League, 1922 and1923.

This volume is an excellent supplement to the City Directories for information on African American professionals, African American owned businesses, etc. LouR 326 C719

Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records, 1707–. Department of History and Archives, 1978–.

This series will require many years to complete. It covers the baptism, marriage, and funeral records of the area now comprising the civil parishes of Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. James, Tangipahoa, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana. LouR 929.3 B334d

This series indexes only published passenger lists. The original set consisted of three volumes with a four-volume cumulation of its annual supplements. Individual supplements continue to be issued annually and cover 1986 to date. GenR 929.3 P28

This volume indexes declarations of intention and oaths of allegiance from 1789-1880 in the city, state, and federal courts of Philadelphia. It covers some 113,000 immigrants from nearly 100 countries. GenR (PA) 929.3 F47p

The above source is available online at www.ancestry.com (subscription only) and at Ancestry Library Edition, accessible in-house at all NOPL facilities.

This series reproduces the information from original passenger lists in chronological order for close to 652,000 Irish immigrants who came from 90 different ports, some outside the British Isles, to the port of New York as a result of the great Potato Famine. GenR 929.3 G553f

The above source is available online at www.ancestry.com (subscription only) and at Ancestry Library Edition, accessible in-house at all NOPL facilities. The database in Ancestry.com is "Irish Immigrants: New York Port Arrival Records, 1846-1851."

This important series began with the goal of covering the years 1850-1855 but has recently been expanded to extend through 1893 at a publication rate of four to six volumes per year. The data is arranged by arrival date and covers all ports of entry. It is taken from the original passenger lists and every list containing a minimum of 80 per cent German surnames is published in its entirety. GenR 929.373 G373

Similar to the German series cited above, this projected fifteen-volume set will list approximately 750,000 Italians who migrated between 1880 and 1899. Issued at the rate of about two volumes per year, the first eight volumes will cover only the port of New York, with later volumes listing arrivals at other ports. The publishers plan eventually to extend the series to 1915. GenR 929.30895 I88

This series covers the present parishes of Calcasieu, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Vermilion and indexes baptism, marriage, funeral, and succession records compiled from courthouses, churches, and other resources. Variant spellings of names are noted. LouR 929.3763 H53s

Deaths (1840-1906) extracted from this source are (partially) available online at www.ancestry.com (subscription only) and at Ancestry Library Edition, accessible in-house at all NOPL facilities.

Covering the present parishes of Lafourche and Terrebonne, this series is similar to the preceding one in content. LouR 929.3763 H53sl

National Society of the Colonial Dames of America (Louisiana). Transcription [of] Baptismal, Marriage and Death Records of Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral New Orleans, Louisiana, 1849-1900. New Orleans, [1948?].

Gives dates of death, birth or marriage for individuals found in these records, along with the volume number and page of the volumes transcribed. LouR 929.3 N53

Spans the period from 1805 to the present except for years when no directories were issued. Early editions list inhabitants of independent towns which eventually were incorporated into the City of New Orleans, such as Lafayette, Jefferson City, Carrollton, etc. Users should be aware, however, that the volumes are not that complete nor are the entries always accurate. Antebellum books show free blacks (in at least some editions); post-bellum books generally omit racial designations. The editions prior to 1952 must be used in microform copy. LouR 917.631 N528

Various 1861 - 1960 New Orleans city directories are available online as part of the U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 database at http://www.ancestry.com (subscription only) and at Ancestry Library Edition, accessible in-house at all NOPL facilities.

Abstracts all original acts of birth, marriage, and death recorded by the Orleans Parish Recorder of Births and Deaths (later the Recorder of Births, Marriages and Deaths) housed in the Louisiana State Archives. Note: the records from 1790-1833 include only one marriage. The records include a few births and deaths that occurred outside of Orleans Parish. LouR 929.376335 R65c

Soards' Elite Book of New Orleans. Soards, 1890, 1898, 1910. 3 v.

Arranged by street and house number, the first section lists the names of "well-to-do" and "prominent" persons, their wives, and eligible sons and daughters. The second section provides the same information as the first section but is arranged alphabetically by name. mf 917.631 S662e2

This series covers the major ports of entry during the nineteenth century, includes over 50,000 names from three different sources: passenger lists, quarterly abstracts of passenger lists, and State Department transcripts. GenR (MD) 929.3 T31p

For the two years it covers, Woods is an invaluable source for information on the African American business and professional community in New Orleans. LouR 917.631 W89

Woods, Earl C. and Charles E. Nolan. Sacramental Records of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, 1718–. Archdiocese of New Orleans, 1986-.

An excellent series of abstracts of sacramental records (baptisms, marriages, and funerals) which began publication in 1986. The series will eventually cover records from churches in the present civil parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, and St. Tammany. Some of the acts recorded in the early volumes actually took place throughout the colony in places such as Old Biloxi, Rapides, Mobile, Natchez, Natchitoches, the Illinois, Quebec, etc. LouR 929.3 W894s